Feeding and pay-off device for filamentary material



y 5, 1966 F. w. CLARKE ETAL 3,259,290

FEEDING AND PAY-OFF DEVICE FOR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL Filed 0012. 16, 19635 Sheets-Sheet 1 P yaw July 5, 1966 F. w. CLARKE ETAL 3,259,290

FEEDING AND PAY-OFF DEVICE FOR FILAMENTARY MATERIAL Filed Oct. 16, l

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5 Sheets-Sheet 2 INVENTORS FRANK M QLA/Q/(E W44 75/? J Kw DER BYQQfQZ/ZMX July 5, 1966 FEEDING AND PAY-OFF DEVICE FOR FILAMENTARY MATERIALFiled Oct. 16, 1963 F. w. CLARKE ETAL 3,259,290

5 SheefS-Sheet 5 I I I" 1101111,," IIIA i 1' Q W BYQW United StatesPatent 3,259,290 FEEDING AND PAY-OFF DEVICE FOR FILAMENTARY MATERIALFrank W. Clarke, Boca Raton, Fla, and Walter J. Koyder,

Meadville, Pa., assignors to Talon, Inc., a corporation of PennsylvaniaFiled Oct. 16, 1963, Ser. No. 316,605 Claims. (Cl. 226-190) Thisinvention relates broadly to the manufacture of slide fastener stringersof the type having a pre-formed interlocking fastener filament, such asa coiled or spirallyarranged filament woven into or otherwise secured tothe edge of a tape, and more particularly, to an improved device forfeeding the pre-formed filament from a source of supply, particularly,to a loom or other apparatus in which the filament is adapted to bewoven to or otherwise attached to the edge of the tape.

The device of the present invention 'will be described and illustratedwith reference to the weaving into the edge of a tape a continuouspre-formed coiled filament consisting of a series of interconnectedconvolutions of the type shown and described in the US. patent toNicholas Wahl, No. 2,300,442, dated November 3, 1942. Such a preformedfilament is made usually of nylon, perlon or of some other suitableplastic filamentary material. While the device of the present inventionis shown in connection with a feeding of pre-formed coiled filament, itwill be understood that it may be used for feedin g any other type offilamentary material.

As is generally known to those skilled in the art, such pre-formedcoiled fastener filament is sleazy, stretchable, easily subject todistortion and, consequently, has to be delicately handled in themanufacture of such slide fastener stringers.

While various devices have been heretofore suggested and used forfeeding such pre-form'ed filament from a source of supply to its pointof use, they have been entirely unsatisfactory and an unacceptableproduct resulted. This was due primarly to the stretching of thefilament as it passes from the source of supply to the loom therebyresulting in distortion of the convolutions of the filament. It is to adevice for controlling the feeding of the filament from the source ofsupply to its point of use in manufacture that the present inventionrelates.

Accordingly, it is the general object of the present invention toprovide a new and novel means or device for etficiently and foreffectively feeding and paying-01f filamentary material, such aspre-formed coiled fastener filament, from the source of supply to itspoint of use.

It is another object of the invention to provide an improved feeding andpaying-off device for filamentary material which is simple andinexpensive in its construction and use, and which may be convenientlyincorporated with a loom or other apparatus with which it is to be used.

It is a further object of this invention to provide an improved devicefor feeding and paying-off filamentary material from a source of supply,the actuation of which is responsive to the tension to which thefilamentary ma- 3,259,290 Patented July 5, 1966 feeding device inaccordance with the present invention showing a pair of the devicesincorporated with a loom,

FIG. 2 is a side elevational view thereof,

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the one side of the same showing the feedingdevice positioned to one side of the path of the warp threads into andthrough a needle loom,

FIG. 4 is an enlarged plan view of the feeding device shown in FIG. 3,partly in section,

FIG. 5 is a sectional view taken on line 5-5 of FIG. 4, and

FIG. 6 is a sectional view taken on line 6--6 of FIG. 5.

The feeding device of the present invention is adapted to beincorporated with a needle loom of the type and construction shown anddescribed in the patent to R. G. Turner, No. 2,902,057, dated September1, 1959 and in conjunction with the means for weaving a preformed slidefastener filament to a tape as shown and described in the co-pendingapplication of James A. Hendley, Serial No. 220,091, filed August 28,1962, now Patent No. 3,123,103. Accordingly, a detailed description andoperation of such a loom and associated mechanism will not be describedherein but merely referred to in a general manner as the loom andassociated mechanism constitutes no part of the present invention.Reference can be made to the aforesaid patent and patent application fora more detailed description.

The mechanism illustrated in FIG. 1 of the drawings shows a pair offilament feeding devices which it will be understood are adapted to beincorporated with a loom for weaving two slide fastener tapes Tsimultaneously in side-by-side relation and the feeding of two filamentsF to the loom as shown and described in the aforesaid copending patentapplication. In View of the fact that these feeding devices areidentical in construction only one of them will be described in detail.

Now referring more particularly to the drawings, the improved filamentfeeding device in accordance with the present invention consists offrame 2 which is mounted on the base B of a loom or some othersupporting means in the vicinity of which the device of the presentinvention is to be used. It will be understood that this device ispositioned on the loom between the warp creels (not shown) positionedrearwardly 015 the loom and the source of supply of the filament F, andthe take-off mechanism (not shown) positioned forwardly of the 100111.The driving means for the various mechanisms is not shown but it will beunderstood that any suitable means may be provided.

As illustrated in FIG. 1, there is mounted on top of this frame 2, apair of opposed filament feeding and payoff devices 3 with onepositioned to each side of the path of the Warp threads W into andthrough the loom. With each of these devices 3 there is arranged ahorizontal shaft 4 with the outer ends thereof journalled in suitablebearings 5 carried by brackets 6 also mounted on the top of the frame 2to either side thereof. On the outer end Olf each of these shafts 4,there is arranged a pulley 7 over and around which there is disposed abelt 8. Each of these belts 8 is arranged around a pulley 9 arranged ateach end of an intermediate shaft 10 suitably journal led in the frame2. There is also arranged on this shaft 10, a pulley 12 over and aroundwhich there is disposed a belt 13. This belt 13 is also disposed overand around another pulley 14 secured to a drive shaft 15 also suitablyjournalled in the frame 2 adjacent the bottom thereof. There is alsoarranged on this shaft 15 another pulley 16 over and around which thereis disposed a drive belt 17. This belt 17 is arranged around anotherpulley (not shown) arranged on the shaft of a motor (not shown) oranother shaft (not shown) associated with the driving mechanism of theloom.

Having described the general arrangement of the improved feeding andpay-off device of the present invention, as illustrated, in combinationwith a loom with which it is particularly adapted to be used, theconstruction thereof will now be described more in detail. This deviceconsists of a block-like housing member 20 which is suitably mounted onthe top of the frame 2 having a central cylindrical bore 21 into andthrough which the shaft 4 is axially disposed so as to be arrangedcircumferentially therearound. There is arranged in and around the innerperiphery of the bore 21 of this housing member, a continuous helicalgroove 3 so as to provide a continuous helical rib 24 therearound, asmore clearly shown in FIGS. 4, and 6 of the drawings. The side walls 25of this continuous nib 24 are arranged preferably at an acute angle tothe axis of the shaft and roll so that the opposed side walls of thegroove diverge in a direction toward the shaft 4, as more clearly shownin FIG. 6.

There is disposed-Within the bore 21 of the housing member 20 andsecured to the shaft 4 therein, a cylindri- 'cal feed roll 26 having theouter periphery there o-f spaced from the inner periphery of the bore21. The periphery of this feed roll is preferably smooth but may beknurled if so desired in order to obtain a more positive feeding action.

In the side wall 27 of this housing member 20 there is provided adjacentthe top thereof, a plurality of hori- Zontal feed passageways 28 whichare arranged in sideby-side and parallel relation with eachcommunicating with the helical groove 23, 23' opposite and substantiallytangential to the periphery of the feed roll 26. In the opposite sidewall 29 of this housing member 20 on the opposite side of the feed roll26, there is arranged a single horizontal delivery passageway 30 whichalso communicates with the helical groove 23 opposite the periphery ofthe feed roll 26 and substantially tangential thereto.

In the top of the housing member 20 there is arranged a plurality ofelongated parallel slots 32. Each of these slots are arranged directlyopposite and in alignment with the helical groove 23 in the housing andcommunicate therewith for the purpose of manually guiding the filament Faround the feed roll and into the helical groove during the initialthreading operation.

The improved feeding and pay-off device of the present inventionfunctions in the following manner. It will be assumed that the loom isin readiness for Weaving with the warp and weft threads in positiontherein. The preformed filament F is then threaded into one of the feedpassageways 28 in the side of the housing, over and around the feed roll26 into the helical groove 23, and out through the delivery passageway30 of the housing so as to assume a position in the device, as moreclearly shown in FIG. 4 of the drawings. It will be understood that thefilament is adapted to be initially guided around the feed roll 26 andinto the helical groove 23 by means of the forefinger of the operatorthrough the slots 32. The filamen-t F is then disposed along side of thewarps and threads into and through a channel (not shown) in the guide G,as shown in FIG. 3. Guide G is pivotally mounted adjacent the outermostwarp in a manner such that oscillatory movement perpendicular to warps Wof guide G will permit a laterally reciprocating needle (not shown) toinsert a weft thread alternately above and below the entrance of thechannel in synchronism with the oscillatory movement of guide G. Theexit of the channel is located substantially at the pivotal axis ofguide G such that the filament F exits therefrom at a point adjacent tothe fell of the tape at which point the filament is woven into the edgeof the tape during the weaving operation.

The loom is now set in operation and as the take-up mechanism ordelivery roll pulls the warps W into the loom the filament F willlikewise be pulled thereinto for weaving. Initially there is a certainamount of slack in the filament F and when this is taken up between theguide G and the feeding device 3 by the weaving operation, the filamentP will become taut and be moved into contact with the periphery of therevolving feed roll 26 at the delivery side of the housing. The filamentwill then be caused to be fed out through the delivery passageway 30 dueto friction and the tautness of the filament at this particular instant.It will be understood that the feed roll 26 is being continuouslyrotated as a speed substantially faster than the linear speed of thefilament and the take-up mechanism of the loom so as not to subject thefilament F to excessive tension between the guide G and the feedingdevice 3. As the filament F is moved out through the delivery passageway28, the successive convolutions of the filament F disposed around thefeed roll 26 will be forced into contact with the periphery of the feedroll and a predetermined length of filament will be pulled or drawn intothe device around the feed roll 26 from the source of supply. After apredetermined length has been drawn, the filament will assume theposition in the helical groove 23, as shown at A in FIG. 6, out ofcontact with the periphery of the feed roll and will remain there untilthe filament between the guide G and the device 3 again becomes taut andis again forced into contact with the periphery of the feed roll, asshown .at B in 'FIG. 6.

Thus, it will be seen that the filament will not be payed-off from thesource of supply and fed into the loom by the feed roll 26 until thefilament is under tension at the weaving operation and that the filamentwill normally be out of contact with the periphery of the feed roll andwill be payed out thereby only at the proper time responsive to acertain condition. That is to say, the convolutions of the filamentdisposed around the feed roll 26 will normally assume an expandedposition in the helical groove 23 at a spaced distance from theperiphery of the feed roll, as shown in FIG. 6.

As a result of the present invention it will be seen that there isprovided a new and novel device for payingoff and feeding a filamentarymaterial from a source of supply to a loom for weaving or for some otheruse whereby the material is not subjected to excessive tension duringthe feeding thereof thereby eliminating the danger of stretching orotherwise distorting the material.

While we have shown and described an embodiment which our invention mayassume in practice, it will be understood that this embodiment is merelyfor the purpose of illustration and description, and that other formsmay be devised within the scope of the invention as defined in theappended claims.

What we claim as our invention is:

1. A device for paying-off and feeding continuous length filament from asource of supply to a take-up comprising,

a cylindrical feed roll rotatably mounted,

means for rotating said feed roll at a predetermined speed,

a housing member arranged circumferentially around said feed roll so asto encircle the same having an inner periphery spaced from the outerperiphery of said roll,

means for guiding the filament in the space around said roll between theperiphery of said roll and said housing member,

said filament responsive to the tension to which it is subjected by saidtake-up for moving between a first position wherein the filament engagesthe peripheral surface of said feed roll to advance said filament fromsaid supply, and a second position wherein the filament is displacedfrom engagement with the peripheral surface of said feed roll and movedinto engagement with the inner surface of said housing member.

2. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein the means for guidingthe filament in the space around said feed roll consists of a helicalgroove arranged in the inner periphery of said housing member in whichthe filament is adapted to be disposed as it passes around said feedroll.

3. The combination as defined in claim 1 wherein there is arranged inthe top of said housing member a plurality of slots directly oppositeand in alignment with helical groove therein for the purpose ofthreading the filament in and around said feed roll and into the helicalgroove.

-4. A device for paying-off and feeding continuous length filament froma source of supply to a take-up comprising,

a cylindrical feed roll rotatably mounted,

means for rotatingsaid feed roll at a predetermined speed,

a housing member arranged circumferentially around said feed roll so asto encircle the same having an inner periphery spaced from the outerperiphery of said roll,

a filament feeding passageway arranged in said member,

a filament delivery passageway arranged in said member on the side ofsaid member opposite that of said first passageway,

means for guiding the filament in the space around said roll between theperiphery of said roll and said housing member,

said filament responsive to the tension to which it is subjected by saidtake-up for moving between a first position wherein the filament engagesthe peripheral surface of said feed roll to advance said filament fromsaid supply, and a second posit-ion wherein the filament is displacedfrom engagement with the perip-heral surface of sad feed roll and movedinto engagement with the inner surface of said housing member.

'5. The combination as defined in claim 4 wherein the means for guidingthe filament in the space around said feed roll consists of a helicalgroove arranged in the inner periphery of said housing member in whichthe filarnent is adapted to be disposed as it passes around said feedroll.

6. The combination as defined in claim 4 wherein there is arranged inthe top of said housing member a plurality of slots directly oppositeand in alignment with helical groove therein for the purpose ofthreading the filament in and around said feed roll and into the helicalgroove.

7. A device for paying-off and feeding continuous length filament from asource of supply to a take-up comprising,

a cylindrical feed roll rotatably mounted,

means for rotating said feed roll at a predetermined speed,

a housing member arranged circumferentially around said feed roll so asto encircle the same having an inner periphery spaced from the outerperiphery of said roll,

said member having a helical groove arranged around the inner peripherythereof,

a filament feeding passageway arranged in said member opposite saidhelical groove at one side thereof,

a filament delivery passageway arranged in said member opposite saidhelical groove on the side of said member opposite that of said firstpassageway,

said filament passes into and through the feed passageway, in and aroundthe helical groove and the feed roll and is responsive to the tension towhich it is subjected by said take-up for moving between a firstposition wherein the filament engages the peripheral surface of saidfeed roll to advance said filament from said supply, and a secondposition wherein the filament is displaced from engagement with theperipheral surface of said feed roll and moved into engagement with theinner surface of said housing member.

8. The combination as defined in claim 7 wherein there is arranged inthe top of said housing member a plurality of slots directly oppositeand in alignment with helical groove therein for the purpose ofthreading the filament in and around said feed roll and into the helicalgroove.

9. A device for paying-off and feeding continuous length filament from asource of supply to a take-up comprising,

a cylindrical feed roll rotatably mounted,

means for rotating said feed roll at a predetermined speed,

a housingmember arranged circumferentially around said feed roll so asto encircle the same having an inner periphery spaced from the outerperiphery of said roll,

said housing member having a helical groove arranged around the innerperiphery thereof so as to provide a continuous helical rib therearoundwith the side Walls of said rib being arranged at an acute angle to theaxis of said roll,

a filament feeding passageway arranged in said member opposite saidhelical groove at one side thereof,

a filament delivery passageway arranged in said member opposite saidhelical groove on the side of said member opposite that of said firstpassageway,

said filament passes into and through the feed passageway, in and aroundthe helical groove and the feed roll and is responsive to the tension towhich it is subjected by said take-up for moving between a firstposition wherein the filament engages the peripheral surface of saidfeed roll to advance said filament from said supply, and a secondposition wherein the filament is displaced from engagement with theperipheral surface of said feed roll and moved into engagement with theinner surface of said housing member.

10. The combination as defined in claim 9 wherein there is arranged inthe top of said housing member a plurality of slots in directly oppositeand in alignment with helical groove therein for the purpose ofthreading the filament in and around said feed .roll and into thehelical groove.

References Cited by the Examiner UNITED STATES PATENTS 1,508,293 9/ 1924Pilger 24247.12 2,497,220 2/ 1950 Humberson 24247. 12 2,651,330 9/1953Mostertz 139-11 2,917,914 12/1959 Shortland 66--132 3,010,632 ll/1 961Brautigam 226183 3,093,330 6/1963 Schmidt 66132 ROBERT B. lREEVES,Primary Examiner. DONALD W. PARKER, Examiner. H. JAUDON, AssistantExaminer.

1. A DEVICE FOR PAYING-OFF AND FEEDING CONTINUOUS LENGTH FILAMENT FROM ASOURCE OF SUPPLY TO A TAKE-UP COMPRISING, A CYLINDRICAL FEED ROLLROTATABLY MOUNTED, MEANS FOR ROTATING SAID FEED ROLL AT A PREDETERMINEDSPEED, A HOUSING MEMBER ARRANGED CIRCUMFERENTIALLY AROUND SAID FEED ROLLSO AS TO ENCIRCLE THE SAME HAVING AN INNER PERIPHERY SPACED FROM THEOUTER PERIPHERY OF SAID ROLL, MEANS FOR GUIDING THE FILAMENT IN THESPACE AROUND SAID ROLL BETWEEN THE PERIPHERY OF SAID ROLL AND SAIDHOUSING MEMBER, SAID FILAMENT RESPONSIVE TO THE TENSION TO WHICH IT ISSUBJECTED BY SAID TAKE-UP FOR MOVING BETWEEN A FIRST POSITION WHEREINTHE FILAMENT ENGAGES THE PERIPHERAL SURFACE OF SAID FEED ROLL TO ADVANCESAID FILAMENT FROM SAID SUPPLY, AND A SECOND POSITION WHEREIN THEFILAMENT IS DISPLACED FROM ENGAGEMENT WITH THE PERIPHERAL SURFACE OFSAID FEED ROLL AND MOVED INTO ENGAGEMENT WITH THE INNER SURFACE OF SAIDHOUSING MEMBER.